Blogging: a subtle appeal to human pride?

In a world of pervasive blogging and social media Andy Wharhol's 1968 prediction that "everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes" has lost non of its allure. Is the desire for public attention now invading the church?

COMMENTING on the practice of blogging, the broadcaster Andrew Marr opined:

"A lot of bloggers seem to be socially inadequate pimpled, single, slightly-seedy, bald, cauliflower-nosed young men sitting their mothers' basements and ranting. They are very angry young people."

Marr qualifies his observation by referring to 'a lot' of bloggers who 'seem to be'. So he is referring to many, not all; and to his perception rather than proven fact. Having said that he is probably not too far off the mark.

However there are many - an increasing number even - who do not fit Marr's description. Many professional journalists and business people make good and – for their readers – helpful observations on current issues.

Who cares about domestic trivia?

But then there are others. Even amongst those newspaper columnists who have something interesting, amusing or informative to say there are othes who seem to think that the average reader has the time or interest to read about what their cat had for breakfast or their baby doing a whoopsie on the carpet - or the other way round.

It's banal and it's boring, but it also worse that that. This form of behaviour illustrates a facet of the human psyche – the need to be noticed; and the inate pride which suggests that the world is poised on tiptoes to learn which brand of toothpaste the writer uses.

Now please don't misunderstand me, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with a blether over a cup of coffee, or its equivalent over the phone or on a Facebook page. It's when the time spent doing these things consume hours of our day or become an addictive form of pride which believes that the world will be bereft it is denied its daily dose of our received wisdom that the difficulty and problem arises.

How we spend our time...

In an earlier age someone once said that you can tell who a person's god is by looking at their cheque stubs and diary. The message being that how we spend our discretionary time and money shows where we place our values.

So, the question is just how much time is being spent by the followers of Christ in front of computer screens or on mobile phones in order to read or write about trivia.

Amongst those who are the most vulnerable to the seduction of social media are the socially-maladjusted youths of Andrew Marr's perception. But is there a wider spectrum of people caught up in all of this? Could it be me? Could it also be you?

I have a love-hate relationship with social media. Some days I want to divorce myself from all of it, press the delete button and never look at another Facebook page. Other days I spend far too much time looking through the pages and pictures and eavesdropping on other’s lives.

I have a Facebook page and I do Twitter. I am “LinkedIn” and tied to several other features of today’s social media landscape. Like you I am astounded at the power and influence this has throughout the world. The best example is what is happening in the Middle East, where turmoil continues to bring changes and threatens to reshape the region. Facebook and the Internet are at the heart of these events, with people rallied to “e streets” in protest when summoned by announcements sent through these social forces.

We are all watching the power of the web impact our lives. We are connected to people and events in ways we never imagined a few years ago—well, at least the way many of us never imagined. Those 30 and under have no problem adapting to this new reality. My generation can remember when news and ideas didn’t spread quite as rapidly as the flick of a tweet.

Today nothing remains secret for longer than a nanosecond. Where we are and what we are doing can be transmitted instantly at will—and even against our will if our cell phone is on, because it will continually plot our location to marketers. This power continues to influence events beyond the control of leaders in every walk of life. To ignore this reality is lethal to any organization.

Reading of the recent upheaval in Egypt and the role the Internet played reminded me of a scripture from the book of Daniel. Daniel sought to understand the meaning of all the prophecies of future events he was given to record, but God said the meaning would remain locked until the end time: “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4).

We are certainly in the time of vastly increasing knowledge. Whether all that knowledge is true, noble or pure is not always relevant. Whether it’s used to build a world based on righteous principles is not always considered. Whether it builds or destroys is not always watched. Knowledge can be considered “neutral” and left to find its own level in the marketplace of ideas and information. But in this process more harm can be done than good.

Daniel had no idea what was being described. We who are living through the fulfillment of the prophecy have our moments when we can’t understand what we see. But we are in the midst of an information and technology revolution that is reshaping our world. We can’t escape it even if we feel overwhelmed by what we see. It’s our reality, and we need to make the right choices in using the power in our hands.

So I doubt that I will ever pull the plug on my connection to the Internet and all its wonders. But I am resolved to use it for good and to ignore it when it pulls me toward anger or thoughts I really should not harbor. I am determined to stay current with all its uses so I can teach my grandchildren how to harness it in the right way to build quality lives.

Above all I am determined to use social media to build healthy relationships and restore any that are damaged. With knowledge comes responsibility, and with the increased knowledge available to us comes the duty to use these tools to restore all things that, transcending this world, will be part of the coming Kingdom of God.

Some people seem to be getting an article of clothing in a twist about the internet and so forth. It can be problematic and the best way to be well informed may be the following:

[1] acquire the best quality education you can [that in itself requires care] [2] look for evidence for extraordinary claims[3] be aware of deflectors[4] seek and become part of a wholesome networking group that aspires to achieve intellectual elevation[5] take evidence from the past, live in the present, and be enterprising about the future